Contents Insurance Advice

climbgirl

I'm taking out a contents insurance policy, it's the first time I've really felt the need, so my first policy! Just want to ask a few questions to make sure I'm not missing anything.

I'm living in a flatting situation, so just insuring the contents of my room. Does this make a difference to the policy?

I've overestimated the amount to be around £20,000 - when I tried getting quotes on £15,000 they seemed to be more expensive than quotes for £20,000, does this seem right? Annual quotes for £20,000 seem to be around £130-£150 (and upwards). Is this the expected ballpark?

In terms of "goods away from the home" - if I take out this kind of cover, will that cover me for my bag being snatched and containing an ipod and camera for example? Or is this policy specific?

Is there anything else I should watch out for in a policy? (Quidco cashback is one thing I'll be looking at too!)

Thanks for the help.

Astaroth

You will need to speak to the insurers.... most will not cover a shared dwelling unless your room has a lock on the door and then only cover the items in your room. Specialist insurers for students tend to have more accommodating policies (as obviously students are in the most common people to be in this situation)

Insurance is like anything else, the price is based on both cost of the item (ie the underwriting risk) and market forces. £15k is very low and so whilst it does reduce the risk of large losses there probably isnt much competition in this field so the prices can be held higher than the larger more common policies where insurers are scrabbling for market share so slashing prices.

Personal Possessions cover would normally cover the bag snatching you comment on but you need to always double check the policy wording as cover tends to vary significantly between insurers

Insurance is based on many underwriting criteria and therefore it is next to impossible to say if a price is good or bad. If you live in a high crime rate area prices will be higher, if you are young and you want full accidental damage cover prices will be higher than if you were a more "mature" person.